Milton Newton Hopkins Jr (1926 – 5 March 2007) was a

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

in southern Georgia, in the south-eastern United States, as well as a conservationist, naturalist, and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, who had a long association with the Georgia Ornithological Society (GOS). Hopkins grew up in Fitzgerald, Georgia. He developed an interest in birds from about eight years of age and spent much time exploring the countryside around his home town. He became a member of GOS in 1939, when he was 15, and contributed his first field note to its journal ''The Oriole'' in 1942. Hopkins served in the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in the Pacific theatre. He was on a

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous a ...

when Japan surrendered. After the war he made use of the

G.I. Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

to study

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

, eventually achieving a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1951. Hopkins was known primarily as an

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

, and was editor of ''The Oriole'' 1960–1965, and received the Society's Earl R. Greene Award for outstanding contributions to Georgia ornithology. He published numerous observations of birdlife in South Georgia over the years, and was good friends with many preeminent southern naturalists, notably Herbert L. Stoddard, author of ''The Bobwhite Quail: Its Habits, Preservation and Increase'', the standard reference on bobwhite quail. In 1975 GOS published Hopkins' book, ''The Birdlife of Ben Hill County, Georgia and Adjacent Areas''. Hopkins traveled widely, but was firmly rooted in his native southern Georgia. The bulk of his adult life was spent at Osierfield, in Irwin County, where he and his family lived in a restored train depot. An ardent conservationist who balanced

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit w ...

with a concern for the environment, Hopkins was named national Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year in 1981 by the

American Tree Farm System The American Tree Farm System (ATFS) is the largest and oldest woodland certification system in America. It is internationally recognized by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification and meets strict third-party certification standa ...

. In his later years, Hopkins remained very active and befriended Janisse Ray, author of the modern classic ''Ecology of a Cracker Childhood''. Ray was instrumental in encouraging him to publish a collection of his stories of farm life in South Georgia, and in 2001 his book ''In One Place: The Natural History of a Georgia Farmer'' was issued to great reviews. In 2001 he also published ''Around Fitzgerald, Georgia, In Vintage Picture Postcards'', part of Arcadia's Postcard History Series. A lifelong student of local history and collector of related ephemera, most of the items highlighted were from his vast personal collection. Hopkins died at the age of 80 after suffering an

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also be a nidus (s ...

.Swiderski.

Notes

References

* Crofton, Elizabeth W. ''Herbert L. Stoddard Sr.: King of the Fire Forest''. Sherpa Guides, Natural Georgia serie

* Hopkins, Milton N. Jr. (1975). ''The Birdlife of Ben Hill County, Georgia and Adjacent Areas'', Georgia Ornithological Society. * Hopkins, Milton N. Jr. (2001a). ''Around Fitzgerald, Georgia in Vintage Picture Postcards'', Arcadia Publishing Co., Charleston SC. * Hopkins, Milton N. Jr. (2001b). ''In One Place: The Natural History of a Georgia Farmer'', Saltmarsh Press, St Simons Island, GA. * Swiderski, John. (June 2007). In Memoriam, Milton N. (Buddy) Hopkins, Jr. ''GOShawk'' 34(2):

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Milton Newton 1926 births 2007 deaths American ornithological writers American male non-fiction writers People from Fitzgerald, Georgia American nature writers 20th-century American zoologists 20th-century American male writers United States Navy personnel of World War II